I read that an insurance company survey revealed that spouses who
kiss their mates in the morning will probably live five years
longer than those who don't. It also showed that the kissing mate
will have fewer auto accidents and up to 50% less time lost from
work due to illness. I won't begin to interpret what all this
means, except that it seems that those people in intimate
relationships seem to be happier and healthier.

But what about that "touching moment" -- that kiss? Is touch also
important?

I once was asked to give some emotional support to a prisoner who
was awaiting trial. We visited for a while in a prison conference
room, talking about nothing more important than how long he may
be incarcerated and whether or not he was guilty of the crime
with which he was charged. He shared nothing of his deepest fears
and yearnings. I felt as if we had not "connected" in any
meaningful way.

Before I left, I took his hands. He held on tightly and dropped
his head. No words were spoken -- we just held onto each other.
After a moment, he began to cry. As he sobbed, he held tightly to
my hands. Somehow, the touch melted a dam of ice and now all his
emotions gushed forth.

When his sobbing subsided, he began to talk once more. Only this
time he spoke of his fear and loneliness and he told me of his
concern for his family while he was imprisoned. All the while, he
never let go of my hands, and I hung onto his. Because of the
touch, he felt safe enough to share deeply.

People are crying out to be touched in caring and appropriate
ways. (I know a woman who goes to a massage therapist once a
week, even when she feels fine, just because she needs that dose
of physical contact.) The lack of touch is one of the greatest
impediments to emotional intimacy and happiness.

When film star Marilyn Monroe was asked if she ever felt loved by
any of the foster families with whom she lived, she replied,
"Once, when I was about seven or eight. The woman I was living
with was putting on makeup, and I was watching her. She was in a
happy mood, so she reached over and patted my cheeks with her
rouge puff.... For that moment, I felt loved by her."

Maybe you are needing more closeness. And perhaps you know of
those who need assurance that they are indeed loved; they are not
alone. Your touch may accomplish what your words cannot -- for
those touching moments can change a life.

P.S. "One touch is worth ten thousand words." ~ Harold
Bloomfield

IF YOU KNOW WHO WROTE THIS
PLEASE LET ME KNOW
SO I CAN GIVE THAT PERSON HIS OR HER DUE
AND
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP ;-)